S+4 floors: Haryana Govt ‘ignored’ expert panel’s critical recommendations

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Chandigarh, July 3

While permitting stilt-plus-4 (S+4) floors, the Haryana Government has disregarded most of the critical recommendations of the expert panel.

After residents’ welfare organisations across the state expressed opposition to S+4 floors, an expert panel led by former IAS officer P Raghavendra Rao was formed. The panel submitted its recommendations on June 30, 2023. However, several of its recommendations have been either “modified”, “deferred”, or declared not practical.

No complaint from RWAs yet: Minister

• Cabinet Minister JP Dalal, who holds the portfolio of Town and Country Planning Department, has said the decision to allow S+4 floors has been taken in the interest of people. “I have not got a single complaint from any RWA,” he said
• He also denied ignoring recommendations of the Rao panel. “Most of the recommendations have been approved. A few of them have been deferred,” he said

For existing sectors, the panel had recommended allowing S+4 floors on residential plots “bound by 12 m or wider roads that have commensurate infrastructure” or have potential to such infrastructure. The panel had also proposed conducting an “Infrastructure Capacity Audit” due to water supply and sewerage challenges to S+4 floors. However, the Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD) has allowed S+4 floors for sectors with access to 10 m or wider roads, with the condition of obtaining consent from adjoining plot owners or maintaining a setback of 1.8 metres on all floors.

According to file notings, this modification has increased the plot coverage from 19 per cent to 61 per cent in the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikran (HSVP) sectors. Ignoring infrastructure assessment, the department has instead decided to divert funds collected from approving S+4 plans to HSVP for infrastructure improvement.

Regarding structural safety, the Rao panel had recommended constructing S+4 floors on the condition that independent structures be designed without transferring loads on to common walls of adjacent buildings. If basements were to be constructed, they should maintain a 2.4 m distance from adjacent plot boundaries. Instead, TCPD has allowed basement and load transfer to common walls with mutual consent from adjoining plot owners. Though, it has prohibited basements on plots smaller than 250 sq m.

The recommendation for S+4 floors to achieve a green building rating was deemed impractical. Similarly, suggestions to reduce the height from 16.5 m to 15 m, increase setbacks, and decrease zoned areas for S+4 floors were “deferred” for consideration by the Haryana Building Code Committee. The proposal to limit stilt height from floor to roof to 2.4 m was also deferred.

There was a recommendation for HSVP plots with purchasable FAR or where building plans for S+4 floors were submitted before February 23, 2023, to obtain permission for S+4 floors after an Infrastructure Capacity Audit and augmentation of facilities within a year. If augmentation was not feasible, refunds should apply. However, TCPD has allowed S+4 floors for all plots with access to 10 m or wider roads with neighbours consent. Panel chairman P Raghavendra Rao couldn’t be contacted.